hi all...spotted this horse down south, is it possible to get advice on this? It is a friends horse they just rescued...they have been doing their own trimming with their own horses but this is more severe than they are used to dealing with. The vet simply said to bandage for 6 months, this was tried, however the hoof didn't seem to respond well (went very soft, bad smell) so they shifted to dermacleanse which had the effect of cleaning it up and it hardened up. It looks clean and is very dry right now, but I question if it should be...maybe it is better to try and get it more elastic?. They will horse is currently moving without lameness (ie no head bobbing or apparent favouring/uneveness of the leg). I thought this would be a really interesting case study to follow and they would really appreciate the help, they are trying to locate a barefoot trimmer now, but there may not be an available one. We'll see. (farriers are.....you know....)Anyway...the pics...I will get more pics from a better angle tonight before I leave.I myself am interested as there is such a section of the heel missing...I thought to boot the horse to protect it from bruising at least, but what is the best way to trim to help this foot grow in a healthy way. They are on extremely hard and pebbly ground, on the flat.I look forward to hearing from somebody!! Back later!Cheers, Janeneedit cos pics didn't come up...will find out how to compress these next time too!

Сообщение отредактировал Janene - 14.4.2009, 5:28

--------------------

you are, and you will be in every way, whatever energy is passing in and through you

How old is the horse? Do they know how long the hoof has been in this state? Is the horse comfortable?

It looks like the coronet band has been badly damaged/ripped off... I have only ever seen this once a few years ago in a 26 year old pony that had a run in with some wire fence. The hoof never did grow back "normal" again because the damage was so deep into the coronet band. In the case I helped with, the hoof did start to harden enough for the horse to be comfortable at the walk after two years but it was always detached from the rest of the hoof wall and the pony was never sound at a trot.

Keep the hoof clean as possible, I would not wrap it or apply boots as I would fear of infection/thrush. As for the trim, I would balance the rest of the hoof normally.

Hi guys, sorry I didn't get to post new pics, but they will take new ones from better angles shortly. The horse is a four year old mare, this split is now two weeks old. She is moving without any signs of lameness (I was very suprised). They have located a barefoot trimmer who will be coming to an area near them soon for a workshop!! (he is not local).They are taking the horses there for this as it is a fairly close.In the meantime they are googling madly and learning heaps!

Theyv'e already taken a cm or two off before this happened apparently (!!) but were told (farrier) to do that slowly as not to change things too fast They are trimming again soon ...actually will have already done so and are going to use the Martha Olivo hoof graph and other info to follow.They send thanks to you all who have offered help so far and are really relieved they did the right thing to keep it clean and leaving it unwrapped!

I meant to reply much earlier but I am still stuck 1000km from home and am now pretty exhausted...hoping to be home tomorrow eve or Sat morn. If I am lucky the weather will stay fine at home for me to get things under control, apparently everything is a mess but at least all the horses are fine. Nobody tells me about my budgies though, so much worrying for the horses! I am sure they will be fine too.When I have everything back to normal and I have caught up on my sleep I will catch up on the diaries etc and do some posting...I have a few questions myself re this hoof...Thanks guys!Cheers Nene

Сообщение отредактировал Janene - 16.4.2009, 13:30

--------------------

you are, and you will be in every way, whatever energy is passing in and through you

I second no glue or anything on this injury. The goal is to grow a new hoof wall as soon as possible and any external pressure would slow the process down. Also the air will help the new hoof to grow solid and tough, covering the area with epoxy would make the hoof wall weaker (just think of your own skin under a band aid). Remember is can take 12 months for the hoof wall to grow from the hairline to the ground, some horses grow faster but I would expect a slow recovery. You are already doing great if the horse is not in any pain!

If the horse is sound now and not in any pain, I would wait for the trimmer to come before any hoof is removed or trimmed. The weight bearing surface of the hoof needs to be finely balanced to keep the horse from collapsing into the damaged heel. The damage seems to be hardening up fairly fast if this is only two weeks old, so you are doing a great job of keeping it clean.

Horses have an amazing ability to heal and this is a great case study!! Thank you for sharing this with us!

I second no glue or anything on this injury. The goal is to grow a new hoof wall as soon as possible and any external pressure would slow the process down. Also the air will help the new hoof to grow solid and tough, covering the area with epoxy would make the hoof wall weaker (just think of your own skin under a band aid). Remember is can take 12 months for the hoof wall to grow from the hairline to the ground, some horses grow faster but I would expect a slow recovery. You are already doing great if the horse is not in any pain!

If the horse is sound now and not in any pain, I would wait for the trimmer to come before any hoof is removed or trimmed. The weight bearing surface of the hoof needs to be finely balanced to keep the horse from collapsing into the damaged heel. The damage seems to be hardening up fairly fast if this is only two weeks old, so you are doing a great job of keeping it clean.

Horses have an amazing ability to heal and this is a great case study!! Thank you for sharing this with us!

Mel

hi Mel, They are doing the best they can...every day, twice a day attention. I think it is great they followed their gut instinct about keeping it unwrapped despite vet and farrier advice! (a local and not the one they would like!).I was fairly amazed the mare wasn't lame, but I seen with my own eyes that she trotted sound! Due to the lack of barefoot people and the fact the only decent farrier in the area is booked 3-4 months in advance they are going to do what they can. As I mentioned they are trimming already themsleves and now have found a barefoot person who is coming for a workshop soon. I will see if they can now send me more pics after another trim. They will be taking bit by bit slowly and any advice is much appreciated by them! I know it is extremely difficult to just go by pics, but surely this is better than just leaving it.My question was actually in relation to the collapsing possibility...I was trying to figure out the mechanics of it in how the heck do you support it?! Specifically, what are your thoughts to do there? I know you said initially to balance the hoof normally...but is it really normally, meaning what little things are needed to be done in order to support the heel, that you wouldn't be doing if the heel was there....could you perhaps share your thoughts, scientifically speaking rather than in lay terms would be great! We all learn more then!Thanks Mel!Cheers Nene

--------------------

you are, and you will be in every way, whatever energy is passing in and through you